NCAA votes to lift moratorium

The NCAA took the first step in a return to college athletics on Wednesday.

The NCAA Division I Council voted Wednesday to allow student-athletes in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball to return to voluntary, on-campus workouts when the current moratorium expires on June 1. In addition, the blanket waiver allowing teams in those sports to require eight hours per week of virtual nonphysical activities through the end of June was extended.

The return of athletes in other sports will be voted upon at a later date.

For Indiana and other Big Ten schools, that ability to return remains dependent upon the Big Ten lifting its own ban on all organized team activities, which is set to expire on June 1 as well.

Even if the Big Ten does lift its ban, the final decision is then in the hands of individual institutions, based in part on the rules and regulations put in place by state governments in the various phases of reopening.

Wednesday’s decision clears the way for schools to start down the path of preparing for a college football season in the fall. Many athletic departments need the revenue generated by football to fund other sports. Some schools have already cut other sports programs in the financial wake of the pandemic.

Earlier this week, the NCAA lowered the minimum and maximum number of games Division II schools are required to play in all sports next year. The requirements would return to normal in 2021-22.

Also on Wednesday, the Division I Council approved a resolution to adopt “a comprehensive legislative package creating uniform, modernized rules governing eligibility after transfer for student-athletes in all sports.”

That appears to clear the way for one-time transfers to gain immediate eligibility in football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball, just as currently exists in other sports, but it will not take effect until the 2021-22 school year. Transfers for the 2020-21 school year will still need to request a waiver from the NCAA in order to play immediately.